Blink-182 - "Bored To Death" (Single Review)

"Bored To Death" drives a thin road of progression meets nostalgia and the band is probably hoping you'll stay in the car for the ride. The song is very different while maintaining a lot of the sound and vibe I really enjoy from Blink-182. This is the best the band has sounded in a long time and, in my opinion, it's a far better and stronger single than Neighborhoods lead single, "Up All Night". The drum sound in the intro of the song production wise is eerily similar to "Feeling This" while elements of Enema Of The State/Take Off Your Pants And Jacket-esque guitar riffs are present throughout the song. Mark's vocals sound pretty spot on for his Blink style over the last couple albums and on the +44 album. He gives a great performance on the track.

Skiba's vocals, although very different from DeLonge's and eerily similar to Hoppus's, are distinct enough and sound more at home than some of DeLonge's did on the past couple Blink outings. The mix of vocals between Hoppus and Skiba help showcase what Skiba can do on a Blink song. I think it is the perfect introduction to this new era and it's honestly exactly what I wanted to hear from the first single. I was eagerly anticipating hearing how Skiba's vocals would pair with Hoppus. The production and mixing are perfect for radio. I think Feldman was a good pick as he's produced big albums with success in the genre most recently with All Time Low and 5 Seconds Of Summer. It sounds more even and balanced than a lot of the production did on Neighborhoods, which at times felt very mixed and matched (probably due in part to the recording process of the album). Neal Avron mixed the song and he's a wiz with the sound. His work with bands like Yellowcard, New Found Glory, and Fall Out Boy has been marvelous.

The song sounds very pop/punk with a nice rock edge. It's crisp sounding and very listenable. This is a strong statement from the line-up of Hoppus, Barker, and Skiba. It's a different day if you are a long time Blink fan. It might be hard to stomach, or it might not be, depending a lot on your opinion of post Blink reunion era music and some of the issues the band has had since they originally disbanded after 2003s self-titled album. All that aside this is a very strong song. In my opinion, it's one of the better Blink-182 songs that has been released in the last decade and it does a great job at building a lot of anticipation for the upcoming album. I think Blink-182 stay true to their pop/punk roots with the song while continuing to evolve and improve that sound. This is a big change for the band overall. There's no other way around it. It sounds promising. It sounds great. If you've ever been a fan of this band, if you are skeptical of this new line-up or not, then you must check this out. I think the first single lives up to the hype!

***Note: I didn't want to go too much into Blink's "drama" meaning I've tried to review this song and discuss the differences and similarities while not going too much into the Tom VS Mark and Travis stuff. Is it Blink-182 without Tom? Topics similar to that nature. For those unfamiliar Tom is not present on this song (or the upcoming California album) and has been replaced with guitarist, vocalist Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio fame.